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I setting up my new MacPro with Apogee Symphony/Rosetta 800 interfacing DP5. I have an old Aardvark Sync 2 which I used in my old studio setup. I wondering if I should/could incorporate the Sync 2 or no, spend even more money on something current... What say ye?

The Apogee clock may be enough, but you should probably do a performance test between the Apogee and the Aardvark before buying a new word clock.

As far as Apogee goes, the clocks on the Big Ben and the 16x boxes are their very best and one in the same-- but the Rosetta 800's clock is a close second.

I wouldn't know how to begin figuring out if the Aardvark or some other clock would fall between the 800 and the Big Ben in price and performance.

If the 800 does well enough by you, it's also possible to just get a BNC router box to distribute its WC signal to other devices. Short of this $10-15 solution, the prices for a better word clock than what the 800 has jumps a hundred-fold.

Frodo wrote: prices for a better word clock than what the 800 has jumps a hundred-fold.

I kind'a figured the 800's WC would be pretty decent. The old Sync 2 cost me somewhere around $1,500/$1,800 when I bought it back in the late '90's, which was big bucks back then for a WC. But I know things change as time marches on and I've read about some WC comparing itself to an Atomic Clock and costing 4 grand or so. Whew!. I'll try to figure out a fair way to do a A/B between the Aardvark and the 800. Maybe something old might still be as good as the new young pups. And maybe it snows on the moon, right?

Is there any way you could borrow or rent a jitter meter for your A/B test? It's not our ears which can be decieving, but it's our brains that convince us that what were actually hear is really something different.

At the end of the day though, despite what meters tell you it does indeed boil down to how good you feel about the way it sounds.

run the A/B tests...

you probably don't need an external clock unless you want to add more rosettas or extra A/D to keep everything locked in.

according to a number of industry professionals (@lavry, @digidesign) an external clock may actually increase jitter. The rosetta 800 probably sounds pretty good on it's own.


Your ears will tell you which one is better...if they don't, i say keep it simple, and sell that aard synch on ebay...

Frodo wrote:Is there any way you could borrow or rent a jitter meter for your A/B test?

If I were still living and working in Nashville I'm sure I could do this. But I've moved back to the hills of the Ozarks and I'm pretty much on my own as far as getting tech work done. My old ears just might have to do me.

OldTimey wrote:i say keep it simple

Yeah I'm kinda' thinkin' the same way. I'm ending up with quite a lot of stuff for ebay it seems.

Indeed, my gut is to use the Rosetta and only do anything different unless you notice a problem. A passive BNC router makes the most sense should it be needed.

OK, so I'm going to ex-naa the Aardvark and just ride with the 800 to get things started (at some point I'd like to make some music with all this stuff...).

So if I understand this correctly now, the 800 will be the master clock for anything needing WC?

Thanks guys!

whonozz wrote:the 800 will be the master clock for anything needing WC?

Yuppers!

I'm out a here on this subject !!!

Thanks all....